Populism v. Elites in French Election

Exclusive: Popular resistance to neoliberal economic policies gets its next test in Sunday’s election in France with two populists from the Right and Left challenging two mainstream candidates, explains Andrew Spannaus.

By Andrew Spannaus

French voters will head to the polls this Sunday to elect a new president, in the next test for the electoral revolt that has swept across Europe and the United States over the past year. Marine Le Pen of the Front National, the right-wing nationalist party seeking to exploit the wave of popular protest that has buoyed outsider candidates throughout the West, aims to place first or second in order to participate in a run-off in two weeks to determine the next leader of France.

European political élites are hoping that the populist revolt will fall short, allowing a more moderate candidate such as the centrist Emmanuel Macron to win. This could change the narrative of the anti-establishment sentiment that has raised questions about the very survival of the supranational institutions of the European Union (E.U.), under attack due to economic policies that have led to declining living standards for much of the population.

After the victory of Brexit in June of 2016, and the success of outsider candidates in the U.S. presidential elections, the European political class began 2017 wondering if the wave of discontent would produce upset victories in the elections scheduled in key countries such as the Netherlands, France and Germany, with Italy also preparing to hold a general election by early 2018 at the latest.

In the Netherlands, the right-wing, anti-immigrant Freedom Party led by Geert Wilders was thought to have the potential to be the top vote-getter overall, despite the expectation that the other major political forces would then refuse to enter into a coalition with Wilders, preventing him from forming a government. Just as he has for his entire political career, Wilders focused his 2017 campaign on a demagogic call to de-Islamize Holland, claiming it was time to take the country back from both immigrants and the E.U. bureaucracy, presented as a threat to the Dutch national identity.

On economics Wilders made at attempt to intersect the discontent of the middle and working classes, calling for the Netherlands to leave the European Union and promising lower healthcare costs, a lower retirement age, and better social assistance for the elderly. This, despite professing to be a follower of the free-market policies of Margaret Thatcher.

In the March 15 election the Freedom Party did poorly, winning only 13 percent of the vote, far behind the Dutch People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy of incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte, that came in first with over 21 percent. Wilders was hurt significantly by Rutte’s ability to exploit a diplomatic row with Turkish President Erdogan to show that he, too, was willing to be tough on Islam, thus stealing the protest candidate’s thunder. Voters appeared to discount his attempt to act as an economic populist, preferring to follow the pleas from the establishment to reject the more extreme candidate and favor stability.

The French Test

Next up is France, this weekend, where Marine Le Pen has attempted to soften the image of the Front National, associated with chauvinist positions since her father Jean-Marie founded the party in 1972. Marine has continued the calls to defend France’s national identity, but has also taken her criticism of the European Union to a higher level, with a detailed critique of the economic globalization policies that have hurt the middle class and created hardship and uncertainty for various segments of the population.

French leftist presidential candidate Jean-luc Melenchon

France has a tradition of nationalism and skepticism towards supranational institutions. Indeed when called to vote on a proposed European Constitution in 2005, the French rejected it decisively (as did the Dutch that same year, by an even larger margin). This didn’t stop European élites from moving forward with their plan for integration, but it’s no surprise that the population is quick to criticize E.U. institutions for the negative effects of “deregulated globalization,” as Le Pen calls it.

The Front National claims to be the alternative to the moneyed interests on the Right and the Left that have created a system that has “paralyzed the economy” and caused “mass unemployment”. The F.N. has also been smart enough to present a specific proposal attacking the free-market precepts the E.U. institutions defend. The idea is to leave the Euro, but not to return to a floating exchange rate system with competitive devaluations and speculative attacks on currencies; they propose to go back to a stable exchange-rate regime similar to that of the Bretton Woods system in effect in the decades after World War II.

In Europe this was called the European Monetary System (EMS), with international accounts settled using the European Currency Unit (ECU) starting in 1979. In the late 1990s, the E.U. institutions transformed this into the single currency, which meant turning power over to a single central bank and demanding control over the macroeconomic policy of all of the participating countries.

The F.N. has also called for eliminating the independence of the French Central Bank, returning to national banking, with the goal of guaranteeing investments for the real economy rather than suffering under the policies of austerity. Not surprisingly, many economists claim these measures would never work, as they fear that such a change would open the floodgates to a wholesale revision of the dominant neoliberal policies in effect today.

Le Pen is set to do significantly better than Wilders did in the Netherlands, although her prospects seem to have dimmed a bit in recent weeks. There is no guarantee she will make it to the run-off, and even if she does, most observers are convinced that in that case the French would rally around her opponent to defeat her. Of course, some skepticism regarding such predictions is definitely in order, considering recent precedents. Le Pen has done a better job of tying her message to the economic discontent of the population, but it remains to be seen if that will be enough to “normalize” her with the French population.

A Left Alternative

Another option disgruntled French voters are considering is Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a former Socialist who has founded his own party called “Unsubmissive France,” whose appeal has grown rapidly in these elections. Mélenchon’s role is similar to that of Bernie Sanders in the U.S. primaries, as his populist, anti-globalization message is not that far from the rhetoric of Marine Le Pen, but without the xenophobia. Mélenchon is heavily critical of both NATO and the E.U. – although he does not call for leaving the Euro immediately – and he supports a significant expansion of social spending and state intervention in the economy.

Mélenchon isn’t truly an outsider, given that he has been in the French political system for decades, even serving as Education Minister from 2000 to 2002, but the jump in his support reflects the openness to candidates who challenge the system. He has almost doubled his popularity compared to his last run for president in 2012, when he took in 11 percent of the votes. The most recent polls show him at 19 percent, not far from Macron and Le Pen, both at 22-23 percent, and essentially tied with the conservative Francois Fillon.

Thus out of the top four candidates, two are considered extreme, raising the specter of a run-off between anti-establishment figures that would upend the political situation in France, and send shockwaves throughout Europe as a whole. This has led current President Francois Hollande to intervene recently against the risk of populism, blaming the insurgent candidates of promoting “simplifications and falsifications.”

If Le Pen or Mélenchon are in fact eliminated in the first round, or lose in a run-off, the pro-E.U. political class around Europe appears ready to celebrate the defeat of populism and the survival of the plan to move forward with European integration. Notwithstanding the black eye represented by the U.K.’s confirmation of the Brexit, it would appear that the anti-Euro, anti-immigrant attitudes that many feared would dominate this election season, are taking a back seat to more moderate and traditional political views.

Declaring victory over the populists could be a big mistake, however. It’s one thing to rejoice over the failure of anti-foreigner sentiment as a driver of electoral politics; it’s another entirely to believe that just because more extreme political movements are failing in this election season, Europe can also avoid the calls for changes in E.U. economic policy.

An attempt to close ranks, to continue to resist against legitimate popular protests against austerity, declines in living standards and widespread unemployment and job instability, would mean ignoring the deep-seated problems brought to the fore by the revolt of voters across the Western world.

The only way to truly win the battle against undesirable elements of European nationalism and populism, is to address the real issues raised by an economic policy that has weakened the middle class and caused most of the population to lose trust in the political and financial élites. In the absence of an effective response to this problem, the protest is not only certain to return in the future, but may well be stronger and more unpredictable when it does.

Andrew Spannaus is a freelance journalist and strategic analyst based in Milan, Italy. He is the founder of Transatlantico.info, that provides news, analysis and consulting to Italian institutions and businesses. His book on the U.S. elections Perchè vince Trump (Why Trump is Winning) was published in June 2016.

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60 comments for “Populism v. Elites in French Election”

The Subtle French Neo Monarchy is able to Exploit the French People, because of their Puppets in France’s Mainstream Media.

Emmanuel Macron is in League with George Soros, who Funds the American Democratic Party, and Puppet Obama who is a Soros Puppet endorsed Macron, and Soros is an Enemy of France.

That is why the Non Establishment Political Party has to have its own way of reaching the French Community with their message.

They can use Talk Back Radio, Social Media, and having their Website to give their Members and Supporters the things that their Members and Supporters Need to share with the French Voters.

The Members and the Supporters of the Non Establishment Political Party would keep spreading that message until a new message of the Non Establishment Political Party is provided on their Website.

The Non Establishment Political Party could have more than one message to spread at the same time.

The Non Establishment Political Party can go back to older messages if it is needed, because Repetition is Needed to help People remember, and this Should Not have anything to do with the theory that even if a Lie is Repeated Often Enough, then it will be Believed by Many People, because a Non Establishment Political Party Wants to deal with Facts, because intentional Lies cause distrust among Voters, and a message or messages might need weeks to be the dominant message or messages until a new message or messages are given for Members and Supporters of the Non Establishment Political Party to share with the French Voters.

There are some Facts that the Members and Supporters of the Non Establishment Political Party Should always say.

That is that Most of the French Mainstream Media, and Many of those Journalists are also Secret Agents who are Trained on how to Deceive People.

The French Mainstream Media is a Puppet of the Shadow Regime that Lies for the Shadow Regime in order to Deceive and to Exploit the French People.

The French Voters have to be Aware that whoever the Mainstream Media is supporting is the Puppet of the Establishment French Shadow Regime, and French People Need to Know that Much of what is said or written in the French Puppet Media on any day, are Deliberate Lies, and these Puppets Deliberately Slander Innocent People, and this is Why the French People Need to look for Alternative sources of Information.

The Non Establishment Political Party would Never want or seek the approval of the French Puppet Mainstream Media, because that would mean that they may have become Establishment themselves.

The Non Establishment Political Party would say that on the rare occasions that the Puppet Mainstream Media did give them approval, then it would Only have been done Very Reluctantly and Unavoidably, with making a Virtue out of Necessity, because there is No virtue in the Bribed and Corrupt French Puppet Mainstream Media, because they work to Improperly Enrich the Unelected French Shadow Regime at the Expense of the French People, and they have Deprived the French People of their Republic.

It Needs to be said that People Should be Paid for their work, and that Regulated Free Enterprise where there are as few Robots as possible, is the best way to create Full Employment and Prosperity for the French People, and I am Not against People being rich and owning businesses.

What I am referring to is that those who are Insatiably Greedy, have taken over Control of France, and they have Arranged Society so that they have their Insatiably Greedy Puppets in Politics, the Media, the Entertainment Industry, Business, and Academia, and these put their Bribes in Secret Bank Accounts, and those Bribes which are in Addition to their Salaries, and they have their Crony and effectively Monopolistic Corrupt Business Models.

To be Insatiably Greedy is Mental Sickness, because this means that if this type of Person had the Entire World, then even then it would Not be enough, regardless of what happens to the rest of the World, and these are the type of People who would begin WW 3 to try to satisfy their Insatiable Greed of which they are Hopelessly Addicted to, and so they Should Not be in Control of France or any other Country, and these People have Controlled France for decades, and in a few days France will have an Election.

The Mental Sickness of Insatiable Greed causes Corruption in France’s current Regime, and it results in Injustices upon the French People, and it includes Exploitation of the People of France by the Establishment.

This Mental Sickness has been displayed by George Soros, who is Insatiably Greedy, and who is an Ally of the French Shadow Regime.

The French Shadow Regime and their Puppets are More Experienced than ordinary People, and these Insatiably Greedy People Will Bribe or Threaten Psychiatrists to Lie and say that Insatiably People are sane and that Insatiably Greedy People are fit to Govern France, and this is just Another form of Corruption and Injustice in a Corrupt System, and the French Voters have their Vote, and they Need Knowledge to use that Vote to Benefit Themselves and to Benefit their Fellow Citizens of France.

This means that a vote for Macron is a vote for his Mentally Sick Ally George Soros, and that is one thing that the French People Need to Know for this French Election, and a vote for Macron is a vote for Robots taking French jobs.

Macron is the Shadow Regime’s Bribed, Blackmailed, and Corrupt Gravy Train Puppet candidate of High Finance and of the Fourth Reich, and the Major Political Parties have mismanaged and misgoverned France for decades and using the Major Political Parties in France who are their Puppets, and they have created Poverty, Injustice, and High Unemployment in France, and this is Why there are Many French Voters who Will Vote for Marine Le Pen for the President of France, because they want a French Society where there is Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, and that means that there is Fairness, Justice, and Equity for the People of France.

Anonymous

May 4, 2017 at 10:26

The Establishment in France is France’s Shadow Regime, and it works by means of its Bribed, Blackmailed, and Corrupted Puppets, in France’s Pseudo Democracy, which is Really a Subtle Secretive Neo Monarchy of France.

These Puppets of the Unelected and Unconstitutional, and therefore Criminal French Shadow Regime, include Politicians of Most of the French Political Parties who have been in French Politics, and who do Not endorse a Non Establishment candidate like Marine Le Pen, because these People have not said that this Election is between the Unpatriotic, Bribed, and Corrupt Shadow Regime Puppets like Macron, and the Alternative who are the Patriotic and Honest Candidates like Marine Le Pen.

Other Puppets of the Shadow French Regime includes the Most of the Bribed, Blackmailed, and Corrupt Puppet French Mainstream Media, who are Effectively Censoring Patriotic and Honest Candidates like Marine Le Pen, and they are doing that in what is supposed to be a Democracy, and they are doing that with their Biased Journalism, that use Dirty Tricks and Unprincipled Methods employed by the Puppets of France’s Shadow Regime.

The French Shadow Regime have other Puppets, and these include Many of those who are in the Entertainment Industry, and Many of those who are in the Arts, and Many of those who are in Academia, because the French Shadow Regime have been Effective on gaining the Dirt on People to make them their Puppets, so that they can Improperly Bribe their Puppets and Improperly Exploit the French People.

We Know that France used to have a Monarchy whose Callous Attitude of Superiority to the ordinary French People who were in Poverty, was that these French People should eat cake, and that is the Secret Attitude of some Influential People in France.

There are French People who think that the Structures of a French Neo Monarchy have Established themselves Once Again in France, and that the French Shadow Regime, which Depresses the French Economy through Neoliberal Economic Policies, is the Neo Monarchy of France.

They think that this time the French Neo Monarchy has occurred under the Guise of Puppet French Politicians, like Francois Hollande and Emmanuel Macron and others, along with French Neo Monarchy’s Puppet Mainstream Media, and Others who are Willing to Improperly Enrich themselves by Receiving Bribes in Addition to their Salaries, even including some People on the Left and some Unionists, and these Puppets Place their Money in Secret Bank Accounts and use Tax Havens, so that they can Cover Up their Bribes, and these Puppets do this at the Expense of the ordinary French People, and Especially at the Expense of the Pensioners, the Unemployed, and those in Poverty in France.

We Know that there was what appeared to be a fair Political Debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, and the Candidates were asked Questions from Journalists.

We can be Certain that Macron had those Questions far in Advance that Journalists would ask, and that a Team of Assistants have researched and written up and rehearsed the answers for their Puppet Macron to say.

This ‘debate’ was Biased, and it was a Corrupt process, and Macron recited the ‘answers’ to those ‘questions’ that were asked by those Journalists, and this gave the False impression that Macron knows his topics, but if Macron is Installed as the Puppet President of France, then he will be Incompetent and Corrupt, because he is the Puppet of the French Shadow Regime.

The Corrupt Establishment French Shadow Regime System of the French Neo Monarchy is Rigged against Honorable Public Servants and other Non Puppets of France’s Secretive and Subtle Neo Monarchy.

The Insatiably Greedy French Shadow Regime Always Selects from among their Puppets, those who are like they themselves, and whose Greed is also Insatiable, and they do that so that the Shadow Regime does Not have to find New Puppets too often, because Normal People would Retire after they had enough money.

The Establishment also has the Dirt on their Puppets to keep them as their Puppets, rather than being the Servants of the French People, and that is why there are Many French Voters who Understand that France Cannot wait 5 years for the next Election, but that France Needs a New Administration that Will deal with the Accumulated Corruption and Incompetence and Treason that France has in Most levels of its Government.

All French People Know someone who is Unemployed, including the Unemployed Youth, and Many French Voters Will consider them, and they want Anyone but Macron for President.

This is because Macron and the Extremely Rich woman he says is his wife, and Why would someone that Rich want to be a Teacher as Macron’s wife was, rather than working in an Old Folks Home, and perhaps it is because there are young People at Schools.

Macron is the Shadow Regime’s Bribed, Blackmailed, and Corrupt Gravy Train Puppet candidate of High Finance and of the Fourth Reich, and the Major Political Parties has misgoverned France, have created Poverty, Injustice, and High Unemployment in France, and this is Why there are Many French Voters who Will Vote for Marine Le Pen for President of France, because they want a Society where there is Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, which means that there is Fairness, Justice, and Equity for the People of France.

Anonymous

May 3, 2017 at 10:27

We Know that Emmanuel Macron recently said that he Knows that Much of France wants reforms for the European Union.

There are Many French Voters who Know that French Politicians will be Betraying France if they are Not committed to some Vital reforms of the European Union.

Macron is a former Banker with Establishment Neoliberal Failed Economic Policies, and Macron is and will be a Puppet of the German Controlled Fourth Reich, which will be called by the Euphemism of the European Union.

The German Controlled European Union gain Control of France’s Military by means of the Deception of a European Army and of France.

Macron is Hollande the second, and France will have another Vichy Puppet regime if Macron becomes the Puppet President of another Vichy France.

There are Many French Voters who Know that the European Union needs some Necessary reforms, or the European Union will Collapse, and for France this will result in an Unavoidable Hard Frexit, and France will be Conquered Again by Germany, unless the European Union can be reformed.

There has been comments made by Brussels and the current French Prime Minister concerning Brexit.

There are Many British People who Voted to Remain a Member of the European Union.

The British Election will give the British People another opportunity to have there say on Brexit.

The 2 Major Political Parties in Britain will Respect the Referendum result, and the the British Labour Party wants less of Brexit than the British Conservative Party, while there are Political Parties who want Britain to Remain a Member of the European Union.

The British Labour Party would want Britain to be a second tier Member of the European Union with Brexit lite, and where Britain shares certain Obligations, but where Britain has more independence from the European Union.

There are Many British Voters who Know that it would Greatly Enhance the prospects for Brexit lite over Brexit, if Marine Le Pen became the President of France, because they Know that she is the Candidate of Reform for the European Union, and if Macron became President, then there are Many British Voters who will Vote for the British Conservative Party at their Election.

We have seen how the German Chancellor Knows that France is having an Election, and she wants her Puppet Macron to become the Puppet President of Vichy France, and she has gone to Russia to discuss Syria, and the only reason that she is doing that is because she wants to Deceive the French Voters that the Syrian Refugees will be going back to Syria, and the German Chancellor wants to Deceive the French Voters that is is sensible or proper to vote for Macron.

However, it is Not sensible, and it is Highly Improper to vote for Macron, because that is a vote for the Establishment, because Voters should Not reward Treason, Corruption, and Incompetence, because Treason, Corruption, and Incompetence will Not reward them, because it Cannot reward them, and this is Why there are Many French Voters who will Vote for the Patriotic and Non Establishment Candidate who is Marine Le Pen.

This is because it is the Establishment who are Responsible for Much of the Economic and other Problems in France, and to reward the Puppets of the Establishment, and to encourage the Puppets of the Establishment to continue to be the Puppets of the Establishment, goes against what is and Decent, and what it means to be French.

This is because French Politicians and High Officials and the French Bribed and Corrupt Puppet Mainstream Media are Not supposed to be anyone’s Puppets, but they Should be the Servants of the French People.

We Know that the French Bribed and Corrupt Puppet Mainstream Media Never speak of the Establishment Wing, who are the Puppets of the Establishment and who are Rewarded with their Gravy Trains for being the Puppets Servants of the Establishment rather than that of the French People, and these Puppets include some of those who say they are left wing, and center wing, and right wing, and these Collectively are Responsible for High Unemployment with Youth Unemployment being over 20 % , and this is Why Policies should be Considered rather than Labels, because these Establishment Puppets are Good Liars and Good Actors who put on an Act and a Show for the Public, while they make Big Secret Dirty Money, because they Enable the Establishment to Exploit the French People.

The Establishment Always Selects from among their Puppets those whose Greed is Insatiable, so that the Establishment does Not have to find New Puppets too often, because Normal People would Retire after they had enough money.

The Establishment also has the Dirt on their Puppets to keep them as their Puppets, rather than being the Servants of the French People, and that is why there are Many French Voters who Understand that France Cannot wait 5 years for the next Election, but that France Needs a New Administration that Will deal with the Accumulated Corruption and Incompetence and Treason that France has in Most levels of its Government.

All French People Know someone who is Unemployed, including the Unemployed Youth, and Many French Voters Will consider them, and they want Anyone but Macron for President.

Macron is the Establishment’s Bribed, Blackmailed, and Corrupt Gravy Train Puppet candidate of High Finance and of the Fourth Reich, and the Major Political Parties who Governed France, have created Poverty, Injustice, and High Unemployment in France, and this is Why there are Many French Voters Will Vote for Marine Le Pen for President of France.

Anonymous

May 2, 2017 at 10:27

We have seen Further Evidence in a long list of Evidence that Emmanuel Macron is Unfit to be the President of France.

We already Know that Macron is a Liar, with his Lies that if the European Union does Not reform, then he would want France to leave the European Union, because Macron is an Establishment Puppet, who Always puts the Illegitimate and Criminal Interests of the Establishment who want a Fourth Reich in Europe above the Legitimate Interests of the ordinary French People.

Macron’s wife comes from a Very Rich family, and they are Establishment, because the Establishment Arranged for Macron to be their Presidential candidate, and Macron’s wife is Establishment, and she has made Macron her Puppet, and therefore Macron is an Establishment Puppet, and Most French Voters Know this.

The European Union works on Good Neighborly Relations, where it is more than just a Friendship, Cooperation, and Trade Area, and where the other Members of the European Union have a certain degree of Sovereignty, even as Neighbors in a suburb have some shared obligations, while maintaining a degree of independence, because this is the way to Maintain Good Relations with neighbors.

Macron would Dishonor France, and Macron has once Again Dishonored France by Falsely suggesting that Poland was taking sides in the French Election, even referring to the Fellow European Union Country’s Government as a regime, rather than as the Democratically Elected Government that it is, and which has certain Responsibilities to their own People, while being a Member of the European Union, and the German Chancellor endorsed her Puppet Macron, and Macron Accepted that endorsement from Puppet Master Germany, and Macron did Not ask for Economic Sanctions to be placed on a German regime.

Macron has shown himself to be Unfit to Serve Elected Office in France, because he said that the European Union should put Economic Sanctions on Poland, and it was a senseless thing for Macron to say to another European Union Country, and Poland has objected to the comments made by Macron, and France and the European Union Needs someone better than Macron to contribute to the Public Debate in both France and the European Union, because it is senseless attitudes and senseless statements like that, which will undermine Europe, and that would work against the interests of France.

There are Many French Voters who are Aware or who Should be made Aware that the Bribed and Corrupt French Mainstream Establishment Media will do the Unprincipled bidding of their Establishment Puppet Masters, and they have said Many Lies, and they have been Very Biased against, and they have Slandered Marine Le Pen, because they are Puppets who Serve Vested Interests, rather than the Interests of the French People.

There are People in France and elsewhere who think that France will have a Female President, either with the Deceitful and Dishonorable way of having Macron’s wife be the Secret Real President, or by the Honest and Honorable way of having Marine Le Pen become the President of France.

There are Many French Voters who Know that Macron’s wife Controls Macron, and that it would be Highly Improper for the woman that Macron says is his wife to Usurp the French Presidency, because her name is Not on the Election Ballot.

French Voters Know that the Honest and Honorable way for France to have its First Female President is to Elect Marine Le Pen for President of France.

The current French Prime Minister has said that the European Union would not survive if Marine Le Pen became the President of France.

It Must be that the current French Prime Minister is referring to a European Union of Poverty, Unemployment, and Corruption, that would not survive if the reform Candidate Marine Le Pen became President of France.

The current French Prime Minister was also referring to his Gravy Train and the Gravy Trains of other French Puppets, who include those of the French Establishment Mainstream Media who are Responsible for the Economic Fascism that has created High Unemployment, and with over 20 % Youth Unemployment who are the Future of France, and it is these Gravy Trains of Corruption and of Incompetence and of Treason that would not survive in France, if the reform Candidate Marine Le Pen became President of France.

The current French Prime Minister said that the European Union was weakened by Brexit, but Brexit gives the Corrupt and Incompetent European Union an opportunity to make the Necessary reforms, and Macron himself Reluctantly said that reforms were Needed to keep France in the European Union, but Macron would Not keep his promises, because he is a Puppet of the Establishment, and Macron has his own Gravy Train to consider, and the Third Reich could be said to be a type of European Union, but Most Europeans, and Most French People did Not want that type of European Union.

Macron is the Establishment’s Gravy Train Puppet candidate of High Finance, and the Major Political Parties who have Governed France have created Poverty, Injustice, and High Unemployment in France, and this is Why there are Many French Voters who want Anyone But Macron for President of France.

Realities of history disappear rapidly
Acts of Aggression against Rogue States;

Noam Chomsky and Edward Said
(sevenstories.com)

Some humans recognize truth,
believe in it, practice it, in living.

Exiled off mainstreet

April 23, 2017 at 12:07

Melanchon is the true leftist in the race, but LePen is the next most “leftist” in the traditional sense, since she opposes the neoliberal globalist yankee imperial framework and is thus more pacifist. The immigration issue has become a divide and conquer issue used by the sold-out Hollande “left” whose candidate, Macron, is basically an enemy of the French people. Immigration is a different sort of issue in Europe, where ethnic groups always lived, than in former settler states such as Canada, the US and Australia, but even there, the tendency is to ensure that ethnicity does not get “rebalanced” by incoming waves of immigration although there are wild cards, such as in parts of the US where newer waves of immigration restore earlier balances that newer waves of immigration upset in historic times. The bottom line is that the anti-immigration stance of European politicians can’t be criticised in the same way as those in former settler colonies, since the basis of the country has often existed for 1000 years or more.

Mark Thomason

April 23, 2017 at 09:50

I entirely agree. Whoever wins this contest, the elites are only holding off the inevitable, reaping the last of their excess profits. The time is coming, if not this time then soon, when major economic changes will win.

Bill Goldman

April 22, 2017 at 15:55

Is there a candidate who sincerely favors detente with Russia. Trump promised it, then reversed. Are the French liars, too?

susan_sunflower

April 22, 2017 at 17:08

I’ve been wondering what the French public think about Syria — their chattering and governing classes seem to be even more blood thirsty that the Americans wrt Assad, however, I was startled to learn that the French (and other european countries) were initially quite happy for their Muslem youth to travel to Syria to fight Assad … how that “laissiez-faire attitude has backfired, in terms of allowing French wannabe warriors to return as trained, experienced and hostile domestic terrorists. The riots of 2005 were never “truth and reconciled”, remedies and social engineering to relieve the dead-end poverty were left unfunded and under staff.

I have no idea how the French press is handling this Champs d’Ellysee shooting, but native born people like him are not about “migrants” or ‘immigration’, but about France not successfully addressing long-standing issues with its minority populations, Keppel/Roy notwithstanding.

Exiled off mainstreet

April 23, 2017 at 12:09

Le Pen actually visited Russia during the campaign and has opposed the yankee pro-el qaeda framework on Syria. Melanchon has also taken an anti-imperialist anti-NATO stance. Even Fillon shows a sceptical position. Only Macron, the establishment’s Manchurian candidate, takes the nihilist pro-US position.

Herman

April 22, 2017 at 07:20

Hard to ignore the impact that our policies of destabilization in the Middle East have had on Europe, acting as a trigger for nationalistic and populist sentiments. Added to our destructive Middle East policies is our provocative behavior toward Russia, which has spilled over into Europe. A probable outcome of our policies is the realization of folk in Europe that the alliance of the elites of America and Europe are hurting them, indeed putting them in danger.

Call A Spade

April 22, 2017 at 06:27

Trump lasted five minutes before he turned to the dark side good luck.

Abdul Katzman

April 22, 2017 at 06:00

It seems to be crystal clear who will become the next French President in either in few hours or in final run-off.

It became obvious 5-6 months back during beginning of the global Russiasteria. Those who followed French politics at the time saw Fallon’s ratings skyrocketed, well, sort of. Then he was called “too close to (yeah, you guessed it) Putin, then his wife’s “scandal”, then his kids, then etc., etc. All the EU and US spooks were hard at work in fabricating and leaking dirt on Fillon and Le Pen (you know, another Russian agent and Vladimir’s confidante).

Then almost out of the blue Macron started popping up on every single European news channel. Operation “Macron” has begun.

For those of you, ladies and gentlemen, who missed Wikileaks’ release of document butch dedicated to CIA interference in 2012 French election (the one that was published before the first part of the Vault 7), it is highly recommended reading illustrating who had already decided outcome of 2017 election and Macron’s victory.

John Doe II

April 21, 2017 at 21:01

As a consequence of the 132 years of French colonization of Algeria, the two nations remain intimately entwined, if not always happily. The continuing ebb and flow, legally or not, of people like Mr. Ouis has created a population of Franco-Algerians and Algerian-French who often live uncomfortably in either place, and whom neither country has fully embraced.

Since the first wave of Algerian emigration before and during World War I, the migratory flow has never stopped. It was bolstered by France’s need to ensure its reconstruction after the two world wars, and fed by Algerian workers searching for jobs.

The independence of Algeria in 1962 barely slowed the tide. The number of Algerian emigrants kept climbing through family reunifications, and by the mid-1980s, about one million people of Algerian descent were living in France. During Algeria’s civil turmoil in the 1990s, tens of thousands more people fled the violence between the army and Islamists.

::
Subjugated peoples can’t ever be “free” people. Cultural dominance and National Pride/privilege, will always see “others’ as lesser/unequal. This isn’t uncharted historical territory, it is a continuation of a position of overseer of lesser humans controlled by Western governments.

When colonized peoples began to agitate for liberty and self-government in the 50’s and 60’s they were met with brutal suppression. Internecine wars drew many to The Continent. The people had divided loyalties.
The documentary, “The Battle of Algiers” is very informative and an historical classic, vis-a-vis the Republic of France and it’s Muslim population. Follow that key into today’s France – into today’s Europe where so many colonized peoples live as citizens.

Loup-Bouc

April 21, 2017 at 23:35

I commend your diction, grammar, syntax, and style, except this: “…more people fled the violence between the army and Islamists” — which suffers a dangling prepositional phrase (an adverb) that tries (impossibly) to modify the noun “violence”).

I commend also your digest of tangentially quasi-pertinent history. Exquisite.

Still, you err by failing to account the harms Muslims (especially Sunni) have wrought upon France. (France’s harming Algerians is irrelevant.)

Realities of history disappear rapidly
Acts of Aggression against Rogue States;

Noam Chomsky and Edward Said
(sevenstories.com)

Some humans recognize truth,
believe in it, practice it, in living.

Loup-Bouc

April 24, 2017 at 21:21

I ought to have observed also that in “…more people fled the violence between the army and Islamists,” the dangling propositional phrase is doubly illogical.

The dangling prepositional phrase (an adverb) does not only try, illogically, to modify a noun. Also it asserts (by necessary implication) that the “violence” is NOT of the army and the Islamists (one or each attacking the other), but, rather, some other (or third) source’s violence occurring in some space that is between the place(s) of the army and the place(s) of the Islamists (violence that, perhaps, a vitriolically aggressive armadillo-band is perpetrating).

John Doe II, just saw your last post, these somehow aren’t in consecutive order until one goes back to reread them, which I like to do since there are so many thought-provoking comments as much as the essay itself.

I honestly think that now we are in uncharted historical territory because of the mess created by the ME wars, the biological phenomenon of steadily increasing populations which continue to put a burden on earth, the technological tampering that has been done with earth’s biosphere, and climate change which is natural intersecting with technocratic tampering. So the politicians have no clue what to do, other than try to manage their unmanageable people and economies. Most politicians are lawyers and woefully equipped to manage anything. The economists are purely elitists.

I still would like to see Marine Le Pen do well to throw a monkey wrench in the works, send the EU scrambling. Besides, she’s female, and “our” losing female candidate was complete establishment and pro-war.

Mélenchon’s current, unstoppable rise reflects the average citizen’s disgust with the whole “system.” He is betting on a sort of third way beyond neoliberal globalization and protectionist nationalism. That implies strong – owned and provided – public services; a mostly green economy; and no financialization.

May Marianne hook his arm and show us all in the us of a – and Germany – what real politics and real democracy look like!

I did read that article on Counterpunch, Bill, entertaining, remember how funny “Being There” was, have to see it again.

McAnon, your idea for a constitutional convention I like, except how to get it in action with the neofascist state we live under? Well, we could start with a bunch of Occupy people going to Philly for a new constitutional convention and holding it somewhere, recognized or not. Get some guerrilla-gorilla theater going. Like the days of the Yippies, Abbie Hoffman style.

Bill Bodden

April 21, 2017 at 18:27

CounterPunch has two excellent articles related to the French election:

“The Main Issue in the French Presidential Election: National Sovereignty” by Diana Johnstone is very informative from historical and socio-political points of view. This article makes clear that the European Union bureaucracy is a major problem as demonstrated in the upheaval in Greece and now in France.

“Macron of France: Chauncey Gardiner for President!” by Evan Jones focuses on Emmanuel Macron. Readers who recall Peter Sellers in the movie “Being There” will find this article to be entertaining as well as informative.

John Doe II

April 21, 2017 at 18:52

The French Revolution of 1968 was not founded in nationalism/populism but in egalitarianism –
Too much democracy or what Samuel P. Huntington saw as ‘the crisis of democracy’
Huntington’s political view hurdled the US into the arms of Ronald Reagan/Reaganism.

Look at the world today… .

John Doe II

April 21, 2017 at 18:58

nationalism is just another word for segregation – or am I wrong…?

Skip Scott

April 21, 2017 at 19:49

I think that nationalism is a way of bringing power back to the citizenry. Globalization concentrates power to the global elites, and destroys sovereignty. I think we have to realize that there are different cultures and that they deserve to have their space and be respected. I believe that if someone emigrates that they should respect the culture of the country they are emigrating to. If they don’t agree with that culture’s ideology, why did they move there? That’s not saying that a culture can’t evolve from within. As humanity evolves, universal human rights will expand of it’s own accord. It won’t evolve from the barrel of a gun, it will evolve from enlightened example.

The catalyst for modern day exodus is precisely being bombed to smithereens with no choice but to attempt to get somewhere where the bombs are not falling; more often than not to the countries that are doing the bombing. Traditional notions of emigration and acculturation do not fit the new paradigm.

Skip Scott

April 23, 2017 at 07:23

Mijkmijid-

Your rebuttal is very true. However, I would not define them as immigrants, but rather as refugees. Their emigration was not by choice. That is the real horror of allowing the global elites (the MIC and its European lackeys) to run the show. We must learn to wage peace in a multi-polar world.

Nationalism is the idea that one’s nation is superior to all others. Nationalism is blind, for the nationalist, there exists no flaws in her/his nation.
It differs from Patriotism, where the patriot although committed to her/his nation, understands that there always exists room for improvement.
Examples of nationalists include, Adolf Hitler, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Barack Obama.
For patriots we have Abraham Lincoln, MGen Smedley Butler, and Hugo Chavez

Well, Bill, I don’t know what’s right and left anymore. Things are so mixed up by the dreadful warring west and the dreadful predatory capitalists that I don’t think there is any real solution with government. We surely had awful choices here. Quite frankly, I believe human society is nearly in death throes from what we’ve done to earth. Religion had also made it much worse, and the neocon wars have caused this direct clash of civilizations by religion. I think Le Pen is a true Frenchwoman, proud of French culture, and wants to protect it. And France does have an amazing culture, well worth protecting. I took French in H.S. and college, was in Peace Corps Chad, a Francophone colonialist country, spent a little time in France, and feel an affinity with Le Pen’s defense of her culture.

The problem with Wilders in the Netherlands is that he threw out racist rhetoric like Trump. Unless I’ve missed something, Le Pen states her case as more protective of being French and that immigration is destroying the culture and globalization destroying the economy. I do think western globalists want to paint a bad picture of her, and I don’t think she’s like her father, who is definitely from a very older generation.

Mike, I guess it’s my biology degree, but my view is that nature is the ultimate leveler, and since human predatory capitalists seem very hard to stop by us other humans, sooner or later they will be stopped by earth. I always think of the dinosaurs, largest animal ever on earth, lived about 180 million years, and they’re gone now. Sure, their descendants are birds, but dinosaurs are gone.

I see that people are getting very steamed up by the Russian fighter bombers near Alaska. I figure it’s in response to the ships heading toward Korea, sort of like the Cuban Missile Crisis in JFK days. Russia must be pretty darn sick of the US and figured the Democrats wouldn’t shut up so they might as well give them something to talk about. I thought it was classy of Le Pen to meet with Putin.

Macron is more like Sarkozy, centrist elitist. Sarkozy is heavily responsible for getting Clinton and NATO to ruin Libya. I tend to think Melenchon picked up on Le Pen’s populist message; I could be wrong, but it seems he hasn’t been campaigning that long, and she’s been out for about a year.

mike k

April 21, 2017 at 17:44

Let’s hear it for the butterfly effect! Something’s got to get us out of this fix…..

This should be an interesting weekend, and I’m rooting for Le Pen. I suspect Melenchon would turn out to be as disappointing as Bernie, and having been tied to Hollande is a disaster, as all Hollande’s promises for the people turned out to be empty. I read a couple of interviews with Le Pen, who is a lawyer, and she comes across as intelligent and savvy, no comparison to the extreme rhetoric of Wilders or Trump. The bankers’ old boys and their presstitutes are pulling out all the stops to try to keep her back, but we’ll see. This isn’t the final, of course, but it would be justice to see France get a female president and also to see another thumbs down on globalization and the repressive, elitist EU. And mike k, I agree that hopes seem dim for this overburdened pillaged planet, but a small change might lead to some larger ones. And tomorrow is Earth Day!

mike k

April 21, 2017 at 17:42

Well Jessica, my totem card in the tarot is the fool, as you might have guessed. I am enough of a die hard idealistic fool to keep some inexplicable hope alive in my breast, as crazy as that seems to other departments of my self. We need a miracle!

Bill Bodden

April 21, 2017 at 17:53

The bankers’ old boys and their presstitutes are pulling out all the stops to try to keep her back, but we’ll see.

Jessica: I usually agree with most of what you say, but I’m skeptical on this one. Both the bankers and Le Pen are out there on the right end of the political spectrum for all practical purposes despite Le Pen modifying the tone of her speeches for better public consumption. It looks like the French have a worse choice than what we had in November without a Jill Stein to represent the people, if only in spirit.

John Doe II

April 21, 2017 at 18:35

Reminder-
::
1968:Protests mount in France

In France, the May 1968 crisis escalates as a general strike spreads to factories and industries across the country, shutting down newspaper distribution, air transport, and two major railroads. By the end of the month, millions of workers were on strike, and France seemed to be on the brink of radical leftist revolution.

After the Algerian crisis of the l950s, France entered a period of stability in the 1960s. The French empire was abolished, the economy improved, and President Charles de Gaulle was a popular ruler. Discontent lay just beneath the surface, however, especially among young students, who were critical of France’s outdated university system and the scarcity of employment opportunity for university graduates. Sporadic student demonstrations for education reform began in 1968, and on May 3 a protest at the Sorbonne (the most celebrated college of the University of Paris) was broken up by police. Several hundred students were arrested and dozens were injured.

In the aftermath of the incident, courses at the Sorbonne were suspended, and students took to the streets of the Latin Quarter (the university district of Paris) to continue their protests. On May 6, battles between the police and students in the Latin Quarter led to hundreds of injuries. On the night of May 10, students set up barricades and rioted in the Latin Quarter. Nearly 400 people were hospitalized, more than half of them police. Leftist students began calling for radical economic and political change in France, and union leaders planned strikes in support of the students. In an effort to defuse the crisis by returning the students to school, Prime Minister Georges Pompidou announced that the Sorbonne would be reopened on May 13.

On that day, students occupied the Sorbonne buildings, converting it into a commune, and striking workers and students protested in the Paris streets. During the next few days, the unrest spread to other French universities, and labor strikes rolled across the country, eventually involving several million workers and paralyzing France. On the evening of May 24, the worst fighting of the May crisis occurred in Paris. Revolutionary students temporarily seized the Bourse (Paris Stock Exchange), raised a communist red flag over the building, and then tried to set it on fire. One policeman was killed in the night’s violence.

During the next few days, Prime Minister Pompidou negotiated with union leaders, making a number of concessions, but failed to end the strike. Radical students openly called for revolution but lost the support of mainstream communist and trade union leaders, who feared that they, like the Gaullist establishment, would be swept away in a revolution led by anarchists and Trotskyites. On May 30, President de Gaulle went on the radio and announced that he was dissolving the National Assembly and calling national elections. He appealed for law and order and implied that he would use military force to return order to France if necessary. Loyal Gaullists and middle-class citizens rallied around him, and the labor strikes were gradually abandoned. Student protests continued until June 12, when they were banned. Two days later, the students were evicted from the Sorbonne.

In the two rounds of voting on June 23 and 30, the Gaullists won a commanding majority in the National Assembly. In the aftermath of the May events, de Gaulle’s government made a series of concessions to the protesting groups, including higher wages and improved working conditions for workers, and passed a major education reform bill intended to modernize higher education. After 11 years of rule, Charles de Gaulle resigned the presidency in 1969 and was succeeded by Pompidou. He died the next year just before his 80th birthday.

::

Is LePen like de Gaulle who oversaw the Algerian War?
Is LePen a champion of the 99% or only French Nationals?
I don’t see her as a US-1968 era champion/supporter of the
Berkeley Student Movement, Albert Camus or Frantz Fanon
She more embodies the nationalism of a George Wallace…

Karel Rehor

April 22, 2017 at 06:54

De Gaulle did not “oversee” the Algerian war. He oversaw it’s conclusion. De Gaulle went into retirement around 1946 when the unstable Fourth Republic was established. A new cabinet or administration was formed on average every six months. When the CIVIL WAR in the Algerian departments started the Interior Minister was one F. Mitterand, who expanded the military’s role in putting down what first seemed an unpopular the uprising. Many of the first volunteers to step forward to fight the FLN where themselves Algerian Muslims or Harki – c.f. Zinedine Zidane’s family. Due to the unstable nature of the Fourth Republic, assemblymen from the Algerian departments were often crucially needed to keep the government afloat. Under the Fourth Republic the role of president was very weak and during the early phases of the Algerian conflict the post was held by Rene Coty. Space prohibits a listing of all the different prime ministers who governed during this period.

As the crisis deepened especially with the Battle of Algiers, putting the entire Fourth Republic on the verge of a wider civil war, De Gaulle came out of retirement on the condition that he could rewrite the constitution, thus creating the Fifth Republic. The Pieds Noirs or Europeans who had lived in Algeria, many for more than a century (a quarter of the population), thought De Gaulle would be their savior. Only after establishing the Fifth Republic and solidifying his position as a very powerful president, did he announce that he was working for the independence of Algeria and an end to the conflict. The Pieds Noirs and many ranking military officers felt betrayed and founded the OAS – Organization Armee Secrete – and began a counter campaign of terrorism and attempts to assassinate De Gaulle. They were aided by the CIA, which is one reason why De Gaulle closed all US army and airforce bases in France and withdrew his country militarily from NATO.

Le Pen is like De Gaulle in that she puts the sovereignty of the French Nation above all else, though she seems less critical of the European Union of which she is a member of Parliament. De Gaulle was critical of the European Community project, because it meant a sacrifice of sovereignty for very little gain, but he did not put a stop to it. One of his primary political opponents was Jean Monnet an architect of the European Project, who in his younger days helped smuggle cognac into the US during prohibition and who during WWII was an advisor to Roosevelt and US intelligence which attempted to sideline De Gaulle and treat France as an occupied colaborationist nation much like Italy. De Gaulle was able to use the resistance networks in France to put a stop to this.

Marine Le Pen took over the reins of the Front National from her Father Jean-Marie who is a crypto fascist nationalist and anti-immigrant racist. He came in second in the first round of voting in 2002 which lead to the creation of the UMP to oppose him. The UMP recently rebranded itself as the Republicans. Over the last fifteen years she has tried to clean up the party and make it more appealing to a wider spectrum of voters. This has lead to a split within the party. New members, who used to vote socialist or left from regions deeply affected by deindustrialization and offshoring form one branch of support. And then there are the older members still tied to the ugly racist past. This wing is one reason why the FN remains untouchable for many French voters, no matter who may end up in the second round.

The France of 50 years ago is not the France of today. Most French see their nation as a multicultural one, based on an oath for newly naturalized citizens, of protecting the ideals of freedom, equality and liberty and which in the 20th Century accepted per capita more immigrants than even the US. This is in part due to the slaughter of 1914-18. In 1961 it was possible for hundreds of North Africains to be rounded up by the Parisian gendermerie to be murdered and have their bodies thrown into the Seine. Such indiscriminate violence committed by official state organs against residents and nationals would be unimaginable today, despite levels of terrorist attacks which rival and surpass those of the period of the Algerian crisis. It is clear though that many members of the Front National, though probably not Marine herself, would not be opposed to returning to such a time.

“In 1972, Le Pen founded the Front National (FN) party, along with former OAS member Jacques Bompard, former Collaborationist Roland Gaucher and others nostalgics of Vichy France, neo-Nazi pagans, Traditionalist Catholics, and others.[7]” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Le_Pen)

The French would do well to focus on the catastrophe they created in Libya and elsewhere in Africa (Chad, etc.) with their military fascist regime. Instead, like Americans, they turn themselves inside out about some absurd notion of violation of national sovereignty. “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite”: sound familiar? Respect Les Droits de L’homme”, while we bomb away. Hypocrite nation. C’est un mirage, Messieurs Mesdames; un Dassault Mirage!

Matt Krist Germany

April 22, 2017 at 05:35

Bill,I think left and right political spectrum is a description of the last century.Today it is only important to be Freemason, Pharisee or somthing like that.It doesn’t matter to be left or right.In my Country all “important politicians” belong to those doubtful communities.They get their orders direktly from America and then they do slavish their evil Job.This frightens Europe (And the Rest of the world) German soldiers stand 100 miles away from St.Petersburg.Like 1940.People do not want that!We have absolutely no Problems with the Russians.(Until now)Our time reminds me to 1939.People are frightened.Depressed.Quiet.
European People are afraid of the american Actions (False flag and games like that) to come.Nobody is in fear of Russia ,China or the moon.

Vote Alternative for Germany in every election, at every level where party politics is permitted.
Like Le Pen, Petry is attacked by the elitists, accused of bigotry, and of being “right-wing.”
What these women have in common is a love for their nation, culture, and way of life, and they want to preserve it for future generations.

mike k

April 21, 2017 at 16:30

Kalen, mcanon – you get it. And by now I am sure you understand that the vicious elites who rule our world are extremely hard to dislodge, and are not going to be affected one bit by any kind of reforms. Either they are overthrown completely or they will continue to destroy all of us. They will find ways to persist even after nuclear war and runaway climate change has destroyed everything. Their extreme selfishness, greed, and desire to not join the rest of us with our ordinary concerns may qualify them to be the last to survive their destructive legacy – unless somehow we the oppressed find a way to get rid of them.

mcanon

April 21, 2017 at 18:15

I’m intrigued by Melenchon’s call for a new Constitutional Convention. I think the left should explore the value that same idea might have here in the US. And before people write to tell me of the dangers involved in that and how the Republicans control the majority of state legislators, etc. know I’m not advocating a Constitutional Convention by the terms dictated in the current Constitution, but a convention forced by activism from people in the streets and the workplace. A People’s Constitutional Convention if you will. Just as with the original Constitutional Convention called to rework the Articles of the Confederation, a People’s Convention could determine the form a new government would take and how it would be adopted. As with the 1787 convention it could go anywhere and take on any issue.

Sure there are dangers in this, but we are now not restricted to the means of participation of the Philadelphia convention. We have the internet. We don’t have to delegate our authority to a small group that represents only their own interests. Proposals could be put forth and debated online or some other way that doesn’t exclude everyone but those with money and power. We can all have a voice in what is decided and how it should be implemented. Our current constitutional and political system is failing the majority and only benefiting the few at the top. You’re right about reforming the system. The level of corruption is simply too entrenched. We have to come up with something the many groups on the left can coalesce around. Single issue and identity politics is not getting us anywhere. Why not try something truly radical?

mcanon

April 21, 2017 at 16:04

“All of that barbarism of western elites is hidden under touchy and feely repugnant immoral propaganda of belonging, a lie about unity of master and slave.”

But, they have given us “mobile devices” to keep us entertained anywhere. No need to think. No need to worry about the end of the world through a senseless confrontation with Russia, China, or North Korea. Don’t worry about the globe heating up to a degree making life unsustainable. I can shoot selfies to post on Match.com so I can meet the person of my dreams or watch the latest episode of Dancing With the Stars or The Voice while I’m driving to and from my job that I really, really hate. Buy hey… I’m being entertained…

Kalen

April 21, 2017 at 15:32

We must not make “populism” a dirty word since it is not.

It is nothing but expression of interests and aspirations of vast majority of the people prevented from a decisive democratic rule that serves their own interests and not interests of greedy oligarch elites.Of course slogans of populism have often been hijacked but oligarch as is the case with Macron, an investment banker, a minister in the hated government of Holland for Christ sake.

All that dirtying peoples unalienable right to rule while hiding the reality of what is an alternative to populism namely abhorrent inhumane ELITISM, what exactly we have in the western world, disgusting elitism and vicious class war while they spend a $billion a day for propaganda to suppress this reality seen daily by people who work for living, the reality that is being incessantly denied.

Now someone tell me what is better about ELITISM. It is worse then populism in thousands of ways it is a political reincarnation of Lippmann racist, classist condescension about people’s ability to recognize their one vital interests and rule accordingly.

ELITISM that is being pushed down our throats, is nothing but anti-humanism, anti-intellectualism, treating people as animals, sheeple with no human qualities of reasoning or self-restrain. All of that barbarism of western elites is hidden under touchy and feely repugnant immoral propaganda of belonging, a lie about unity of master and slave.

Matt Krist Germany

April 21, 2017 at 16:54

Great comment Kalen! Can’t say it better.Hope Marine has success,but the elitarian mud in the sink is still very powerful.Let’s pray for a better world to Jesus Christ.That will hurt the mud the most!

The short answer is yes. But it would take a very, very unlikely series of events, given that the Labour Party is 21% behind the Tories in the most recent opinion polls.

Article 50 starts a two-year deadline ending in 2019, after which Britain will no longer be part of the EU, regardless of whether the UK has reached a trade deal with the rest of Europe.

Can a new prime minister take back the request to leave? Or is Article 50 an irrevocable act, ejecting Britain from Europe no matter what?

The law is unclear, but there have been a few clues from legal authorities as to whether Article 50 reversible.

Most recently, a leaked European Parliament draft resolution has said that the UK will be able to revoke Article 50 before it expires if the rest of the EU agrees.

yes, as with the Democrat, they persist in believing this was all a bad dream, Bobby Ewing in the Shower, and we ask “Who Killed JR?”

I think the French can figure out that yesterday’s shooter is — at least so far — just another glory-seeking loser criminal type, the sort who can’t be effectively “dealt with” without some wholesale jettisoning of anything like a “free” or “open” society

mike k

April 21, 2017 at 14:29

Footnote to my post above: If you think my dire warnings are somehow wildly overblown, I suggest you do some research of sites and sources that are not singing the corporate songs that tell us everything is fine, trust us and stay tuned to our very own MSM. You might look into the realities of climate change, species extinction, population overshoot, antibiotic failure, genetic poisoning, and many other lethal tipping points we are now facing.

For those aware of the onrushing collapse of industrial civilization and all that this will bring in worldwide massive disaster, it is almost surreal the importance people give to the endless petty games of politics and economics that play such a part in distracting us from the real issues we should be facing with radical changes and preparations. To put our hopes and energies in these political games of musical chairs would be comical, if the real future unfolding now were not so grim. Parlor games on the Titanic indeed. Many seem to think if we can just tweek our failed systems some certain way, they will magically do what they have never done before, and get us through the coming changes unscathed.
Dream on doomed believers in business as usual….

Skip Scott

April 21, 2017 at 14:16

Le Pen and Melenchon are very similar to our Rand Paul and Tulsi Gabbard. I would like to see France lead the way towards a return of national sovereignty over Globalization. It’s the only hope the middle class has on both sides of the Atlantic. An end to foreign interventionism could pave the way for peace and prosperity and a resurgence of the middle class. When the elites start talking about “simplifications and falsifications” you know they’re scared.

john wilson

April 21, 2017 at 13:43

The shooting the other day of police should give Le Pen an advantage. If the guy who did turns out to be an immigrant and a Jihadist sympathiser, then she may have the election in the bag. I hope she wins,but not because I hold any brief for her, but the sheer pleasure of seeing those unelected bureaucrats in Brussels getting a good smack in the face, is something that would give a lot of people a great deal of pleasure.

evelync

April 21, 2017 at 14:33

It would give me, a Bernie supporter, more pleasure seeing the same thing accomplished with a Melenchon win! Avoiding, hopefully, the risk of a paranoid shift that blames immigrants for the ills brought about around the globe from a banking elite gone wild thanks to corrupt and inept political leadership, like WJC’s destruction of the (60+ year success) Glass Steagall. That along with Reagan’s First Act, pandering to Greedy Wall Street, unleashed the S&L’s in the 1980’s costing taxpayers 1/2 $trillion.
Mr. Clinton’s Second Act unleashed the destabilizing and ruthless casino style practices that led to the 2007-2009 near collapse and the financial destruction of many in the working class who lost homes and a life.

The banks for the time being may have killed the goose that laid the golden egg, IMO, at least for now.

Melenchon like Bernie or better yet, Tsipras, would only turn around sell the French people to Brussels within months.
No Way!!!
Marine Le Pen will lead France in the right direction.
The accusations of xenophobia are complete bull. I have listened to many of her interviews and she is not racist, nor a nationalist. She seems to me a Patriot who knows France well. If the French know what is good, they will not need a run-off election and go with Bleu Marine.

pete22

April 21, 2017 at 15:47

Obvious false flag. They are going viral it seems

susan_sunflower

April 22, 2017 at 00:09

I think it’s more a case of “just another antisocial azzhole with a gun” who wanted to part of “something bigger than himself” …